Languages

Collaborate Groups, projects & programmes, discussions, Q&A

National governments, local authorities, big business and others came together this month for the first time to start plotting out how exactly they will implement the major climate accord struck last year at cliff-hanger negotiations in Paris.
By happenstance, their timing was both good and bad. The Paris Agreement came into surprise effect at the beginning of November, after enough governments took unprecedentedly quick action to ratify their pieces of the accord. Around that same time, the U. S. government sprang another surprise with global implications: the election of Donald Trump, a... Read more

As the Centre embarks on a massive drive to skill 20 crore people by 2022, one big challenge ahead is to ensure the financial survival of skilled rural youth engaged in jobs in urban areas, as wages and infrastructure are inadequate, says Ajay Chhangani, co-founder and CEO of Rise India, an education and skill development group, which is aiming at a turnover of ₹100 crore in three years via organic and inorganic growth. Edited excerpts from an interaction:
Rise India began operations with education. When did you get into training drivers?
We started training drivers with a partner, Shriram... Read more

Almost half of the world’s total population – around 3.5 billion people – are affected by malnutrition, be it undernutrition where they are not getting enough to eat, or micronutrient deficiency where they are not getting essential vitamins and minerals through their diet, or over-nutrition where they suffer from obesity, being overweight and other complications. The international community has acknowledged the importance of addressing these health concerns through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote... Read more

The election of Donald Trump has left the Democratic party defanged. Despite winning the popular vote, the Democrats now face four years of a radically right wing executive and at least two years in the minority in both houses of Congress.
But as they cast around for succor, there is still one major institution they overwhelmingly control: cities. Of the 20 biggest US cities, only Fort Worth (Texas), San Diego (California), and Jacksonville (Florida) have Republican mayors. Across the whole US, the more densely inhabited the area was in the 2016 presidential election, the more likely it was ... Read more

Where does the United Nations see mayors fitting into the new implementation discussion on climate and sustainable cities? An interview with David Nabarro, the secretary-general’s special adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Cities are receiving major focus at international climate talks currently taking place in Morocco, the first formal follow-up to last year’s successful adoption of a new global accord to seek to contain global warming.
Yet climate action is just one part of a broader new push by countries around the world to bring new attention to issues of... Read more

For roughly a year, Niko Bonatsos, a managing director at the venture firm General Catalyst Partners, didn’t make a single investment. He was meeting with startups daily, as it’s his job to do. But Bonatsos, who steered General Catalyst to Snapchat in 2012, was finding it hard to be inspired by what he was saw.
That changed in September, says Bonatsos, who has spent half his time in recent months focused on what urban centers are going to look like in the coming decades. On a recent afternoon in San Francisco, we sat down with Bonatsos to talk about it. Our chat has been edited for length.... Read more

This month the INTBAU will be holding their World Congress, discussing the effects of rapid urbanisation in cities. We spoke to the INTBAU’s Harriet Wennberg about the conference, urbanisation and sustainability in London and why people should engage with architecture.
London is one of the largest cities in Europe and continues to expand rapidly. With over 55% of the population living in urban environments, the demand upon our cities is growing exponentially, and it is the role of architects and experts to consider how rapid urbanisation will affect our cities and how we can find sustainable... Read more

ELON MUSK SAYS every new Tesla comes with all of the hardware needed for fully autonomous driving. He is hardly alone in trying to spare humans the tedium of car operation. Audi, GM, Google, and Uber are among the many companies working toward the day when autos do everything and you’re just along for the ride.
Musk, ever the showman, plans to see one of his cars drive across the country next year without a human doing anything more than enjoying the scenery. Others lay out more conservative timelines for rolling out their technology, but make no mistake—robocars are coming, and sooner than... Read more

24 October 2016 – A Memorandum of Understanding to enhance cooperation between urban development and aviation was signed in Quito, Ecuador, during the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (HABITAT III).
The agreement was signed by Dr. Fang Liu, the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and Dr. Joan Clos, the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
According to a statement from ICAO, the agreement is significant because “sustainable civil aviation is in a position to make critical... Read more

As the U.N.’s urbanization jamboree finally kicks off, what does the former mayor want the world to know about his city?
QUITO, Ecuador — Every idea starts in someone’s head, and the idea to host HabitatIII in Quito sprang from the mind of former mayor Augusto Barrera.
This week that idea came to fruition, as Ecuador’s capital hosts tens of thousands of people from throughout the world to take part in the U. N.’s every-20-year conference on cities and sustainable urbanization.
Barrera was inspired by his experience 20 years ago, when he attended the last Habitat conference — Habitat II, held... Read more